Home chefs will enjoy preparing these Chinese home cooking-inspired dishes with this easy-to-follow Chinese cookbook.

Author Katie Chin’s love of cooking blossomed at an early age—watching and later helping her renowned mother, Leeann Chin, prepare delicious Chinese dishes in her popular restaurants. Born in China, Leeann was an award-winning restaurateur and author revered for her ability to demystify Chinese cooking for the American home chef. Katie inherited her mom’s passion and talent, and has become a respected food writer and television personality in her own right. Sadly, Leeann passed away in 2010, but her recipes live on. Katie is eager to share her mother’s food legacy with you in this book—an homage to Leeann’s mastery of all that Chinese cooking has to offer.

This treasury of family recipes includes many unique dishes that Leeann developed during a six-decade career in the food business, including time-honored classics that she herself learned from her mother in China. Some dishes reflect Leeann’s Chinese-American childhood or are recipes which Katie and Leeann developed while together. Others are creations that Katie has developed more recently. Woven throughout the book are fond memories and anecdotes from Katie’s childhood, always involving cooking and eating with her mom.

Katie Chin’s Everyday Chinese Cooking is a celebration of Leeann Chin’s amazing mastery of the complete array of flavors and techniques in Chinese cuisine, and her unique ability to make them accessible to Westerners. Katie provides tips and techniques which allow anyone to create a refined and tasty Chinese meal at home.

Favorite Chinese recipes include:

-Firecracker Shrimp

-Mu Shu Pork

-Peking Duck Summer Rolls

-General Tso’s Chicken

-Tangerine Beef

-Hoisin Lacquered Ribs

-Tea-Smoked Sea Bass

-Banana Wontons

-Five Spice Chocolate Cake

-And many more…

Let yourself be inspired by the exquisite flavors of Leeann and Katie Chin’s signature Chinese cuisine!

Katie Chin was born and raised in Minneapolis by her award-winning restaurateur mother, Leeann Chin. She is the co-author of Everyday Chinese Cooking (Clarkson Potter, 2000) and author of 300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes and Everyday Thai Cooking. She was co-host with her mother, Leeann, of the 2003 national PBS cooking series Double Happiness. Katie has made numerous appearances on The Today Show and has appeared in specials on The Food Network and Fine Living. She has been featured in Glamour, Family Circle, Cooking Light, Bon Appetit, Self Magazine, Angeleno Magazine, Hampton Magazine, Elle Magazine, Daily Candy, Daily Variety, Real Simple and The Los Angeles Times. Katie has served as a guest judge on Food Network’s Iron Chef America and appeared on Cooking Channel’s Food(ography) program in 2013. When not testing out her new recipes on family and friends, she divides her time as a private chef and culinary consultant. Katie has been called the “Asian Rachel Ray” by many of her fans because of her sparkling personality and approachable style.

Foreword-Writer, Raghavan Iyer, is an IACP Award–winning Teacher of the Year, and author of 660 Curries, Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking, and the James Beard Award Finalist The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood. He is also a spokesperson and consultant to General Mills, Target, and other companies.

“Katie Chin has done us all a huge favor: she’s provided us with recipes for so many of the Chinese dishes we always wanted to cook but have never had clear and easy instructions to prepare…Thank you Katie Chin!” —Martha Stewart

Jade Shrimp with Fragrant Vegetables

Pineapple Fried RiceJade Shrimp with Fragrant Vegetables

As mentioned previously, shrimp is often served at celebratory occasions in China. My mother would always serve a shrimp dish like Jade Shrimp with Fragrant Vegetables at birthday parties—and, as I recall, when my brother Billy finished his Ph.D. (My parents celebrated the Ph.D., but not the pierced ear he’d acquired while studying abroad!) Despite the ongoing culture clash in our home, we always found ourselves laughing at the dinner table. This easy and healthy dish is loaded with bright pink shrimp and toothsome snow peas and broccoli. The garlic infused in the sauce is what gives the vegetables their fabulous fragrance.

2 In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, the pepper and the sesame oil. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3 Blanch the snow peas and broccoli florets in boiling water until tender, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to an ice water bath to cool, then drain and set aside.

4 In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon water, the remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch and the oyster sauce. Set aside.

5 Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until they turn pink. Remove from the pan and set aside.

6 Wash and thoroughly dry the wok or skillet, then heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add the garlic and onion and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock and heat to boiling. Cover and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute.

7 Add the baby corn and salt and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in the reserved shrimp, snow peas and broccoli and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute, until the shrimp are hot. Dish out and garnish with the coriander leaves. Serve immediately with steaming-hot rice.

Pineapple Fried Rice

When my mom and I made this on the Today show a few years ago, it didn’t occur to me to slice the underside of the pineapple before going on live television so it would be easier to cut on camera. Needless to say, it was a bit of a struggle to cut through that pineapple quickly, but Al Roker charmingly dubbed my huffing and puffing the “Everyday Chinese Cooking Workout”! I love this recipe because the presentation is so impressive—the rice is served right in the pineapple shell. The chunks of fresh pineapple are sweet, bright and refreshing, perfectly offsetting the saltiness of the soy sauce in this dish. Chicken, shrimp, mushrooms and egg round out this delicious and refreshing dish.

Serves 4 to 6 as part of a multi-course meal

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

1 whole pineapple

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt, divided

Dash of white pepper

2 tablespoons oil, divided

3 cups (450 g) cooked and chilled white rice

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup (150 g) cubed cooked shrimp

1 cup (150 g) cubed cooked chicken breast

6 white button mushrooms, sliced

½ cup (75 g) fresh or thawed frozen peas

2 green onions (scallions), finely chopped, plus more for garnish

Salt, to taste

White pepper, to taste

1 Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise. Following the rim, cut deeply around the inside of the pineapple, being careful not to pierce through the skin. Cut the flesh inside the pineapple into cubes by making long slices down the length of the pineapple and then make 1-inch- (2.5-cm-) wide crosscuts. Scoop out the flesh using a flat-edged spoon and reserve.

2 In a medium bowl, combine the eggs with ½ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Whisk to blend.

3 Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and stir-fry until they have set, but are still moist. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

4 Wash and thoroughly dry the wok or skillet, then heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the cooked rice and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Mix in the soy sauce, shrimp, chicken, mushrooms, peas and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooked eggs, reserved pineapple flesh and green onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds more. Season to taste with the salt and white pepper.